what would you do

[Louis]

So today I inspected some til before cleaning it. Put some flex down and give it a quick scrub and the black went away and the light tan appeared.

Spray it all down and scrub now its not moving. Small sections are coming clean.

Thought it was color sealed. No some yahoo grouted over the top. Here's the kicker. After the cleaning and I scraped some of it off it's green. Wtf. Who does this. It's a rental and the guy is understanding.
How can I get the green off?
Knee pads and grout saw?
would some acid help?

 

[Mikey P]

No pics?

 

[Louis]

 

[Louis]

Unfortunately there is more green than the lighter grout. Some places it's thick.

 

[Ray Burnfield]

From the pics it look like the latex grout color seal.
You would need to use a paint stripper like Jasco with a Steam Cleaner. The problem will come when you see why they used it in the first place.

 

[Mikey P]

could be unsanded grout and acrylic admix/half assed color seal..


Are you on the hook to finish this?


You may get luck with the Saiger approved SS grout brush from Interlink and some mild stripper

 

[Louis]

It's one my realtors customers. The realtor that is handling my mother in laws purchase right now. So I'm kind of on the hook. He's not expecting me to work for free but wants to get it fixed.

I tried the stainless brush. Acid, floor stripper , no luck. The acid was weak. Screwdriver was how it came off in many spots. Of course where I tested for cleaning it came off super easy. I think it's grout. We have some real stupid people around here.

I did one a few weeks ago and they used caulking to repair cracked gout.

 

[Mikey P]

hard to comment on Stocktonians without the risk of insulting YOU..


Get a Fein Grout Tool and get busy...





Figure out the right color and mix with the Acrylic Admix for good bonding strength and charge a boat load as it will suck.

 

[Louis]

Stockton is a whole different world. 30miles down the road. I don't even go there. I have no town pride. I'm just stuck here. Someday I will get out of this area.

 

[Wandslinger]

Faster to just re-stain than ripping it out

 

[Louis]

Could it be acid cleaned and color sealed a lighter color?

 

[Mikey P]

Doubtful..

 

[Louis]

Not what I wanted to hear. I have a sawzail with a grout saw on it. I going to test some color seal just because I got to.

 

[Louis]

Can I test if it is color seal with acid ? Will color seal bubble up like grout?

 

[mirf]

How big is the area?

 

[Louis]

Maybe a 120sf. Small entry, galley kitchen and small dinning area .

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

Stupid people aren't confined to any geographical area folks. Bummer you feel you own this job, cause you don't. The hodge podge lack of maintenance and alterations that occurred after the original installation don't constitute a crisis on your part. It's hard to offer a dead on fix for this grout without seeing it up close, only you can make the calls. Probable (?) needs re-grouting, period. Maybe (?) a color seal but that's probably throwing good labor after bad grout. Ask yourself if you're a Cleaner or a Flooring Contractor? If you're both then price out the re-grout and be done with it. As you go forward on other jobs, learn from this one and develop a solid approach to not just doing a test spot but qualifying these jobs with customers. You've got to communicate to customers that a lack of long term maintenance and botched alterations are beyond the scope of professional cleaning.

 

[Mikey P]

Can I test if it is color seal with acid ? Will color seal bubble up like grout?

No.

Scrape at it or use a stripper.

It's fairly obvious once you've done a few whether they're coated or not

 

[Spurlington]

It's one my realtors customers. The realtor that is handling my mother in laws purchase right now. So I'm kind of on the hook. He's not expecting me to work for free but wants to get it fixed.

Don't walk on eggshells .. he's profiting by handling your mother in laws purchase. This floor issue is his problem. He should be grateful to you for any improvements. I'd colorseal it and charge him the same as you would anyone else.